


Orbit

by Name1



Series: Moving Forward [2]
Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:21:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22672453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Name1/pseuds/Name1
Summary: A followup to my first story Weight:They were just orbiting each other, going around and around, always watching to see where the other one was in this dance.  Now, it seemed like their orbit had gotten smaller and she couldn’t complain at all.
Relationships: Baby Yoda (The Mandalorian TV) & Cara Dune & The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV), Cara Dune & The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV), Cara Dune/The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)
Series: Moving Forward [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1648918
Comments: 36
Kudos: 121





	Orbit

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!  
> After more years of only reading and lurking than I care to admit, I finally decided to put on my big girl pants and try my hand at writing stories of my own.
> 
> Please forgive typos and grammatical idiocy. I'm still figuring out where punctuation goes around quotation marks. It's a journey I'm still on.

It took another 12 days for the 3-member crew of the Razor Crest to find a planet with a weaponsmith who also sold armor of any decent quality. Din was particularly picky about armor, not that she should have been surprised, but he seemed to be going slightly over the top. The first two planets they visited had perfectly acceptable stock to choose from him as the browsed through their tables, but Din seemed less than impressed. Trusting his judgement about something so critical to his line of work, they left the shops empty handed. At the last market, she finally put her foot down and stated that they were not leaving until her shoulder was once again covered by metal. She felt naked with it uncovered, and though they hadn’t been in a firefight since her shoulder piece lost its integrity, it was tempting fate to go too long before finding a replacement.

The new plate of metal sculpted over fiberglass was attached to her shoulder before they left the shop. Win for her.

She was glad she didn’t have to resort to sitting down on the floor and refusing to leave. If he insisted on leaving yet another shop, she would have loved watching him try to carry her out of there. It probably would have gotten ugly and then they would have had to pay the stall owner extra for the damage their scuffle caused. _She wouldn’t make it easy for him that’s for sure_ , she thought with a grin. She almost wished it had gone that direction.

She conceded when he insisted on paying extra to have it custom fit to match the other side. She didn’t have the money for the custom work, and she certainly didn’t accept charity, but the guilty tone in his voice when he said it was his fault she got shot, shut her up pretty quick. He felt responsible, and the quick bandaid for that was to let him cover the cost. That seemed to assuage his guilt for the moment. The long-term cure, was a conversation to be had back on the ship. It was ludicrous to think that he had any culpability whatsoever in her injury, he wasn’t even on the same side of the room when it happened. She just got unlucky with that stray bolt.

She smiled slightly as she thought back to the aftermath. Unlucky, she may have been, but she couldn’t help but be grateful for the push it seemed to give her and Din. Ok, maybe it was more like a kick in the ass, but they were both too stubborn to leap off that cliff without it. For two warriors they could both be pretty cowardly when it got personal. They’d run into a burning building for the kid, but got all clammy if they had to have a conversation even touching on something emotional.

At least they were like-minded and well matched in this area. It wasn’t as though one of them was chasing the other. They were just orbiting each other, going around and around, always watching to see where the other one was in this dance. Now it seemed like their orbit had gotten smaller and she couldn’t complain at all. It would have been crazy if they just instantly changed their behavior that 30 years of experience had taught them about getting close to anyone.

“It looks good,” He said as they entered the hold once again. His voice made her jump.

_Had she really zoned out that much with her thoughts? She didn’t even remember walking up the ramp._

“Thanks. It feels good. And thanks for spending extra on the custom job. I definitely couldn’t have afforded those credits you dropped.”

“They’re both of our credits. We share jobs, we share payout. You have as much claim to our pooled money as I do”.

“Oh, then I change my mind. I’m taking that ‘thank you’ back then. I thought you got me a gift but now I see I just bought half of my own present,” she cheekily replied as she walked past him.

“Armor isn’t a present, it’s a necessity. And making sure it fits well is well worth the price” he replied, following behind her

She abruptly turned on him and despite his full armor covering his body, he startled. “You know that shitshow in the bar wasn’t your fault, right?”

_Got him_ , she thought with satisfaction.

The long breath he exhaled let her know everything she needed to know. He crossed his arms and she could tell he was about to argue, when the kid toddled up to her and held his arms up. Damn.

“Ok, little guy. You’re a pretty cute distraction, I have to admit it. Here’s the snack I grabbed you from the market”. She reached into her bag and gave him the small airy cake with a layer of sugar on top. She always brought him back a treat and he knew to expect it now.

“We are having this conversation later, You and the kid can’t conspire against me to put it off forever,” she insisted, though not unkindly.

“You might be surprised,” he suggested. “He’s always in places he shouldn’t be, never know when he’s going to show up in the middle of something….”

The kid, sensing the two of them were otherwise engaged, toddled off to climb under the table where he had stashed a collection of soft toys.

“Tell me more about this _something_ he’s going to interrupt, sounds promising” she said close to his chin with a shit eating grin on her face. 

He huffed out a laugh. “Ok, I’ll give you that one,” he said still laughing. She could imagine him smiling under his visor.

“You totally walked into that one,” she quipped back.

“Maybe I did it on purpose….”

“But really, we can’t even get 5 minutes alone, what makes you think we can hash out whatever conversation it is you think we should be having. Where could we possibly go on this ship that the little explorer over there won’t party crash?”

“Let me think about it and get back to you,” she said. “Right now, I’m heading up to start the pre-flight checks”.

He watched as she picked up the kid, collected him in her arms and headed for the ladder, new shoulder guard catching the light. The color was slightly different because it was new compared to its partner. A little moisture and some wear and tear and they would look like a set again.

He knew she let him win; for all her joking, she never pushed him to have a conversation he didn’t want to have. What she didn’t know was that he would do anything for her, uncomfortable conversations included, if he thought it was important to her.

He wondered how long it would take before he would look at her new armor plate and not think back to her bleeding freely on the cot while he tried to stop the flow with his hands.

Shaking his head to dispel the unwanted image, he started up the ladder and headed to the cockpit.

She was in the Nav seat and he sat in the pilot’s seat.

“Sooooooo?” he stretched out the sound as if a question. “If armor that will literally save your skin isn’t a good present, what _is_?” he asked trying to sound casual.

"I’ve got everything I need right here. I don’t need any other _things"_. _Did she even notice how her hands tightened on the kids as she said that?_ Din wondered

His mind slipped to how few of her belongings were on shelves he had installed around her bunk. There were very few things she called her own and he knew there was a story behind each one. He felt this ridiculous surge of happiness at a future where he might learn their story from her own lips.

Her things seemed to have no rhyme or reason, but she must have some attachment to them. He took a quick inventory of everything she owned: 3 beads of various sizes 2 pairs of worn boots, a small handful of tiny gray pebbles (only a slightly larger grade than sand), a small medal engraved with writing he didn’t recognize but an insignia he did, her knives, blaster, a green velvety polishing cloth, and bottle of oil. That was it.

Besides what she wore on her body, those were all of her worldly possessions. To an outsider, it would seem as though she didn’t have any personal belongings that spoke to who she was, what she liked, or what was important to her, but he knew that was wrong. All of these things _were_ who she was, he just didn’t know the meaning of each one. He hoped that would change.

What intrigued him even more was their placement in his space, _their_ space. They started out neatly on the corner of the shelf he installed when she agreed to travel with him and the kid, but they slowly began to spread out as she made it her home. One object at a time would inch out toward the edge, then a little further into the common area, like she was testing the waters to see how far she could really permeate his space. _Didn’t she know she already filled it?_

Now, her spare boots were found next to his and the green polishing cloth was on the table at the far side of the room. He welcomed her possessions slowly unfurling to take over their cabin, much like how he felt about her unfurling through all aspects of his life. One day he woke up and she was just _everywhere_. It snuck up on him and suddenly he realized he couldn’t remember a time where she wasn’t filing his senses, ever since the first time he got a real look at her after his head stopped ringing and he bought her soup… He smiled just thinking back to how hard she came down on him. Looking back on it now, he should have realized this was perfect foreshadowing of how hard she would fight her way into his life. She was so strong and so beautiful, he couldn’t believe she was _here_ with _him_.

Things were changing, but through it all, Cara being simply Cara, kept him grounded. She reassured him when he needed it and never asked anything in return. He tried to reciprocate when he could, wanted her to feel valued, but felt woefully inadequate.

Dragging his thoughts back to the present and the need to get back in the air, he started flipping the familiar switches for the takeoff sequence. _Lever1, lever2, button, toggle, flip that switch up, and the next one down_. She noticed he missed one and didn’t even think about it before she had flicked it automatically. Bean reached out to try to copy her movement. His arms luckily didn’t reach yet.

Din stopped, turned, and looked at her in silence.

“What? I know how to fly. I’m not going to blow us up, don’t worry,” she reassured him, thinking he was questioning her ability.

“Why don’t you ever want to then”

“It’s _your_ ship, it seems wrong to fly it as long as you’re able, unless you want me to so you can have a break”.

“Did you fly a lot back in your days as a soldier?” he asked. Mostly just to keep the conversation going, but he was also honestly curious. She wanted a conversation didn’t she? and two could play at that game. As long as he kept her talking about herself, he was safe. Why hadn’t he thought of this before?

“You don’t have to answer that,” he said when she didn’t immediately respond and her face turned serious.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing….. The questions……You don’t have to try to distract me if there’s something you don’t want to talk about. Just say it. I’m not going to push you where you don’t want to go. I thought you knew that. I’m happy to keep answering your questions though. Come on hit me, whatcha got?”

There was the start of a smile. He realized he had been waiting for it. She leaned back, her back arched as she stretched, “I’m an open book. Stretching her arms out palms up in a universal sign of openness.”

That _did_ get a laugh out of him.

“You are the most complicated person I have ever met,” he said to get her to laugh and keep her talking. He absent-mindedly hoped she didn’t notice that her shirt had ridden up and a small sliver of her perfectly taunt belly was visible.

Getting Cara to open up about details of her past as one of his greatest achievements. She had a shell as tough and thick as his own, but he found it remarkably easy to open up to her about details of his past, even the ones that he didn’t intend to. She had this way of making him _want_ to tell her things, it was almost unnatural. It was only when the conversation turned to matters of their relationship, (even 5 degrees removed) that he clammed up. He had absolutely no idea what he was doing on that front.

He worried though what would happen if he accidentally pushed too far into a territory that held a painful memory for her. The thought of causing her pain, even accidentally made him sick to his stomach. He knew she was strong, but that didn’t change anything. He worried that she would answer him anyway and then suffer in silence later from the unpleasant memories he dredged up. There were plenty of things in his own past he didn’t want to talk about, so he understood. They were both honest with each other though, and he knew she wouldn’t push him. He wanted to reciprocate her understanding and patience. It was a work in progress at best.

He still closed his eyes sometimes and figured this was all just a very elaborate dream or a hell of a concussion. There’s no way that he could have stumbled across her in the vastness of the galaxy and her see something _good_ enough in him stick by his side through the shit they had been through, it just wasn’t _possible_. Having someone to share space with was not something he ever knew he wanted; he was always content traveling by himself, but now the thought of the shelves empty, her little nick nacks and assorted things gone, was too hard to think about.

Her camaraderie was the best thing that had ever happened to him (kid excluded), but she gave so much more to him than she got out of their travels together. She showed him what it was like to trust another person……and now there was something _more_.

He was brought back to the present by the sound of her voice, perfectly at ease, answering his question.

“No, not really. They flew us in. It was either on huge cargo ships, or transporters. When we got close there’d be drop ships that put us on the ground.” She answered easily, oblivious to his inner turmoil.

“So, what else do you want to know,” she asked tantalizing, dangling the opportunity to know her better in front of him like bait.

“I have a list,” he said with a straight face.

“Wait really?” “I’m not nearly as interesting as you seem to think I am,” she said with a laugh and incredulous look on her face.

“That’s blatantly untrue.” “And to think, you’re usually such a convincing liar, you getting soft Dune?,” he said in the same laughing tone.

“How about we go back to flying?” she said challengingly, getting them back on track, but not without a glittering smile.

“They’d transport us on these huge ships with no viewports, probably so we couldn’t see what shit we were about to descend into and I definitely wasn’t a pilot during that time. I got more out of out of killing Imps up close and personal than the long range gun of an X-wing ever would have given me.

I learned to fly when I was young, just a kid really. Little ground transports, skimmers, speeders, that sort of thing. When that didn’t do it for me anymore I learned to fly small interplanetary craft. I don’t claim to be all that great at it, but I can get us in and out of hyperspace without killing us”.

“That’s pretty much all any pilot can hope for,” he conceded.

“Next question,” he continued. “Where did you get your tattoo?”

“Oh my God, do you _actually_ have a list?”, she laughed out loud. “I’m pretty sure you know where I got this,” as she looked down at her arm.

“No, the one on your face, _here_ “. He reached out his hand as it to brush her cheek but changed his mind last second and let his hand drop. She finished his projected path and brought her hand up to her cheek under her eye.

“I got it almost right when I joined, when I was at my absolute most charming, let me tell you; angry, defiant, pissed off, and willing to do anything to let me get my revenge on the Empire. I was fucking _magnificent."_

Din couldn't help but agree. She was fucking magnificent.

"It seemed like every recruit was getting one, almost always on their arms. I said “screw that,” I wanted those Imp bastards to see it right there on my _face_ when it’s the last thing they see”.

She finished just kind of trailing off, waiting for him to look at her like she was some kind of monster, but it never came.

“I understand, I’ve been there too, and I was definitely _less than_ magnificent as a teenager and young adult _,”_ he said in a tone of voice she rarely heard from him.

It was getting late. They should really go to bed, but this felt so nice, sitting together talking even about a morose subject. He would be happy to deal with tiredness if it meant he got to share this moment with her.

“Next question, why haven’t you braided your hair back the past week?”

“Does it have something to do with being shot? I don’t know much about your people’s customs, but everyone knows there’s a whole elaborate code and etiquette that applies to braids.

She huffed out a laugh. “You’re right, there a lot of rules, but it’s not as complicated as all that. I just still can’t get my shoulder up high enough to braid it back. Sorry to break your bubble by revealing the truth of that great mystery”.

She continued, “If you really want to know the truth, it’s driving me insane actually, it’s all in my face and every time I lean over it’s like a wild animal with a mind of its own.

“I can braid it for you,” he stated, like it was nothing out of the ordinary.

She froze. Her whole body went stiff.

He backtracked and stumbled over his words a little as he tried to explain, when he noticed her reaction. “I mean, I can do and over under, over under, over under. I’ve had to braid together cabling and wires, how different can it be?” he said quickly trying to inject some humor into the situation that he had accidentally made awkward.

He was left feeling like he had overstepped a boundary he wasn’t even sure existed. The way she froze however, was a sure giveaway.

She breathed out and said much softer, “yeah, sure, of course.” _Another controlled breath_ “You can do it. That’s fine”. Several second later he thought he heard her mutter “I’d like that”, but it was so soft he might have imagined it.

He took off his gloves and rolled up his sleeves like he was about to work on the hyperdrive instead of touch her hair. She couldn’t take her eyes off the skin of his hands, the shape of his wrists, and the dark hair on his forearms.

_Shit_ , _the kids was still playing with his bucket of toys,_ Cara suddenly remembered. She could hear as they all spill out onto the floor. Originally, he had to make do with toys what were not really toys at all: some tubing, a screwdriver, a lock that had a spinning face, a couple of small ration boxes that he could stack. Now he has plenty of real kid’s toys. It was a source of pride for Din and her both that there were more real toys than spare parts in his toy box now.

“Let me put him down and then I’ll come back,” she said. She walked out of the cockpit and it wasn’t until he was alone with his thoughts that he felt out of his element again. When she was with him, he felt so comfortable, but as soon as she left, he started second wondering if he has made a cultural snafu. _Did he say it wrong? Were people not allowed to touch her hair and she didn’t have the heart to tell him, so she went along with it? Was it special only to family, lovers?_

Before his thoughts could get too far away from him, he heard her sock-clad feet walking back to her seat. In her hand she had a brush and a handful of pins. She placed the pins down on the dash panel and held the brush in her hands. Turning in the seat she looked to him and seemed to be contemplating how this would work.

The chairs wouldn’t move close enough to one another to let him reach her while sitting, so she stood and moved so that she was next to his chair. He followed her with his eyes as he saw her kneel next to his chair, at his side, with her head near his knees, facing away from him.

“Your hair is so dark. It’s hard to see what I’m doing with the lights so low in here. It doesn’t help that this visor blocks out what ambient light there is”.

“What if I keep my eyes closed?” she suggested “You can take it off for a minute so you can see”.

“Ok”. He definitely didn’t need her to convince him. Before he could think twice, he had lifted his helmet up and off, placing it at his side.

Cara touching him, while his helmet is off, was like a dream. He put the brush down on his other leg and he couldn’t help himself, he ran his bare hands through her hair. She let out the most relaxed and pleased sound he had ever heard. She laid her head down and the whole side of her face was pressed against his thigh. The left side of her head was open for him to comb her hair, but he couldn’t stop staring at the long line of her pale throat. His whole word spiraled down to nothing except the warmth of her face where she laid against him. He wondered how long he could touch her without having to return to the pretense of awkwardly braiding her hair. She seemed more than content to let him stroke her scalp and the noise she made when he ran his fingers against her scalp and behind her ear, made him acutely aware that he needed to stay focused or he was going to embarrass himself.

“Mmmm…..Don’t stop…. Please,” she almost sounded intoxicated. He certainly felt like he was.

“I thought I was braiding your hair,” he came back at her playfully, as he tried to subtly shift in his chair to ease his discomfort brought on by her words.

“Would you believe me if I say I forgot,” she said with a smile on her face. “Your hands feel so good”.

At that, alarm bells were going off in his head. He couldn’t keep up. This was too much sensory overload: his bare face, the stars twinkling in his periphery out the viewscreen, her warmth, her hair, her words…..he was rapidly losing control of the situation. _Maybe giving up control wasn’t a bad thing_. He trusted her more than anyone. Maybe he was thinking about this too much. She wouldn’t hurt him, and he wouldn’t hurt her.

 _She wants this_ , he thought to himself. _She’s giving him not only permission, but a reason to touch her as if she knew of his reluctance to push the boundary from necessity to desire._

“You’re the expert, walk me through this,” he said as he tried to find his voice and remember how to form words. It was so quiet that his voice came out especially rough, the husky tone of it had nothing to do with the feel of her thick hair against his hand, _absolutely nothing._

She did her best, showing him with one hand how to part her hair into sections and he gave it his best shot. By the end they were both laughing and snickering, harder than he could ever remember laughing. He might have even heard her let out a little snort when he said, “I’m not going to quit my day job any time soon but it’s secure and tied back”, as he used multiple pins to tie down the end of his plait. “I’d advise you not to look in the mirror though”. “Keep your eyes closed and stand up to look at me so I can see how bad it is….”

When he picked up her head and helped to stand before him, he instantly regretted his suggestion. He missed her warmth and closeness so much it took him by surprise.

She turned her face toward him. “So how do I look?” she said, laughter still in her voice and smile plastered on her lips”.

“Beautiful”, “you’re beautiful,” he said with all seriousness and reverence he could muster.

She let out a shudder as the word vibrated through her.

She smiled. “Thank you for doing it.”

“I’m sure it’ll get easier the more I do it. If that’s ok?”

“I’d like that,” she said honestly, candidly.

Her eyes were still closed but he was still high from the rush of being so close to her. It emboldened him. He almost felt like he was out of his own body looking down at himself as he reached up to place his hands on her face, her skin so soft as he ran his thumb over her cheek.

“Can I touch _you_?” she hesitantly asked, as if afraid anything louder than a whisper might break this spell, this moment.

“Yes,” he breathed out. And then her hands crept up his neck to rub his jawline and entangle in his hair.

She could feel the rough stubble on his face and the texture took her by surprise. She stroked his face slowly, savoring the feel of his skin. She leaned in closer, eyes still closed, and he stopped breathing all together. He had to tell himself to inhale, so he didn’t pass out. They each moved closer until she could feel the warmth of his breath on her face. She wanted this so badly, but she was afraid to push further. He had ventured so far already, braiding her hair, taking off his helmet- maybe this was enough for one day, hell, even one lifetime. If this was all she could get from him, it would be enough to last for the rest of her days. It was more than she deserved. Being close to him was a gift, and she was grateful he trusted her this much.

He couldn’t talk himself out of this any longer. He wanted to kiss her so badly he would have done anything to feel her mouth against his.

Be brave, he thought. _And if you can’t manage to be brave, be stupid and go for it_ , the other part of his brain helpfully supplied.

Standing on this precipice, this cliff, each daring each other to jump first, this was the only next logical step. A step she both feared and craved all in the same breath. Funny, that she couldn’t even manage that breath now. Or fear for that matter.

“I want to kiss you,” he whispered. _Where the hell had that come from? He thought he said that in his head, so then why did he just hear it come out of his mouth? Did he just say that aloud?_

“I want you.” She answered against his lips, so soft it was just a breath. That was all it took for his brain to shut off and his mouth to cover hers. They fit together perfectly as their circling finally came to an end and they finally collided. It was the most natural thing that had ever happened, and yet it turned everything upside down. She almost cried out at the overwhelming release of it after the weeks, _months_ , of buildup. _Sounds like that did not come out of her throat. Who could have possible have made that noise?_

If he was capable of thought at that moment, his insecurity probably would have manifested itself, but all he could think about was the feel of her mouth, her lips soft and warm and they pressed against his. He could breathe her in as he felt her exhale against the skin of his face. Her nose brushed against his cheek and it was the softest thing he had ever felt.

_How had they never done this before? Could she feel his hands were shaking? When could they do this again? Why was he thinking so much?_

Cara moaned into his mouth as he tilted his head slightly to bring them closer together. All thoughts were gone then. Her hands moved up to thread through his thick hair. She had no control of them whatsoever; her brain wasn’t in communication with any part of her body. All she felt was heat. Heat, everywhere. 

She pushed into him further, desperate to feel his body against hers. He let out a choked sound when her breasts pressed against his chest, with only the soft cloth of his under-jumpsuit and her shirt between them. They broke apart for a second to laugh at how _godforsaken loud_ it was in the silence of the cabin, before their mouths collided once more.

She was burning up, she wasn’t sure what she needed, but whatever it was she needed more.

“Please,” she exhaled right up against his open mouth.

“Yes, “he answered immediately. “The answer is yes”. That request in her voice was the hottest thing he had ever experienced.

She laughed, “You didn’t even hear what I was going to ask”. _How was it he could make her laugh so easily?_

“Whatever it is, the answer is yes,” he replied matter-of-factly. _Couldn’t she see how hard words were right now?_

He smiled, the edges of his lips slowly curling up into an affectionate smile. She felt the curve of them against her mouth and she couldn’t help but smile against him. Her healing shoulder stilled burned in protest where her arms raised to touch his face and muscular neck, but damnit, she would rather just tear the whole arm off, if that’s what it took to keep kissing him, to keep him close.

Until this moment they had been locked in this orbit; their paths fixed so they didn’t move any closer in fear of colliding, but didn’t dare to move any further apart. Locked. Luckily, where planets were only controlled by gravity, bodies of flesh and blood were controlled by want and desire. In this instant, she feels her desire is more powerful than physics or biology, stronger than gravity, stronger than any force she’s ever felt before.

When had the mere beginnings of a kiss gotten her so worked-up that she wanted to rip off her own skin just to find some relief from the heat coursing through her? _What was he doing to her? Who was this woman inhabiting her body at this moment?_

He didn’t have to worry about her accidentally opening her eyes, she was certain. All of her other senses were being overwhelmed with pleasure. Eyesight would have pushed her over the edge, too much, her brain shutting down completely.

She opened her mouth under his, willing to take anything he wanted to give her. Her head was spinning, and as soon as she felt the warm slide of his tongue against hers, his hands dropped to her hips and she couldn’t prevent the moan that escaped her, completely of its own volition The _wonderful_ sound this tore from him in response was masked by a large crash, followed by the kids shrill cry.

They jumped apart.

“I’ll get him,” he called out as he threw his helmet back on before darting out the door. She heard the crying stop and then his mumblings, as the child calmed down and cooed at his dad. He must have had a nightmare, and come looking for Din and knocked over his box of toys in the dark. God, she loved that kid. She couldn’t even be mad at him; he was just seeking comfort. Weren’t they all….

She took stock of herself. She was leaning back against the wall, not trusting her trembling knees to keep from buckling underneah her. She reached up and felt her swollen lips, the heat against her chin where his stubble had rubbed just seconds before. She could still taste him, feel him, hear his uneven breaths- so many tells that he was just as affected by this as she was.

If the kid hadn’t come into the hall when he did, she was 2 seconds away from throwing him down into the chair he earlier occupied and climbing into his lap, desperate to press against………

” _Shit, Stop it Cara_!”, she thought in a panic, trying to force that image out of her head. There was no reason to work herself up anymore than she already was.

She desperately tried to shut down her traitorous thoughts, but at this hour it was too late to take a cold shower to take the edge off. _Shit._

“Think about blurrgs, instruction manuals, the opening paragraph of the Charter of the New Republic,” she said under her breath, anything to calm her racing heart and dissipate the heat radiating off her.

There was no way she was going to be sleeping tonight. From the happy wide-awake coos coming from Din’s bunk and his answering, comforting voice making its way back to her, it didn’t seem like _anyone_ would be getting much sleep tonight. It was fine, this was better than any dream anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!


End file.
